President Donald Trump took aim at Representative Adam Schiff, a California Democrat who chairs the House intelligence committee, in a Twitter outburst Thursday morning after Schiff announced a new investigation by the House Intelligence Committee into Trump's and his family's finances.
Trump tweeted that the Democrats had gone "nuts" and accused Schiff of "unlimited presidential harassment" by seeking to investigate aspects of the president's life.
Schiff said in a statement on Wednesday that his committee would investigate the financial interests and dealings of President Trump and those connected to him, including his family and associates, after receiving "credible reports of money laundering and financial compromise."
The probe is intended to look beyond Russian interference in the 2016 election, which is the primary focus of special counsel Robert Mueller's inquiries, and explore whether any "foreign actor" has sought to compromise or holds "leverage, financial or otherwise" over Trump, his family and associates.
The committee will "as its first act" release to the Department of Justice and Mueller's investigators all transcripts of testimony taken by it in the previous Congress "with no restrictions on their use."
"As Chairman of the Committee, I am committed to leading a thorough and impartial investigation that will follow the facts, and I hope that our Minority counterparts will join us in that effort," Schiff said in his statement.
"Congress has a duty to expose foreign interference, hold Russia to account, ensure that U.S. officials—including the President—are serving the national interest and, if not, are held accountable."
Trump responded on Twitter to the announcement to Schiff's announcement.
"So now Congressman Adam Schiff announces, after having found zero Russian Collusion, that he is going to be looking at every aspect of my life, both financial and personal, even though there is no reason to be doing so," Trump tweeted on Thursday morning.
"Never happened before! Unlimited Presidential Harassment...The Dems and their committees are going 'nuts.' The Republicans never did this to President Obama, there would be no time left to run government. I hear other committee heads will do the same thing. Even stealing people who work at White House! A continuation of Witch Hunt!"
On Wednesday evening, Schiff tweeted that he believes "meaningful oversight terrifies the President."
Democrats took back control of the House after triumphant midterm elections and intend to use the full force of their newfound congressional committee powers, including the power to subpoena witnesses and documents, to hold Trump, his allies and family to account.
"I can understand why the idea of meaningful oversight terrifies the President. Several of his close associates are going to jail, others await trial, and criminal investigations continue," Schiff tweeted. "We're going to do our job and won't be distracted or intimidated by threats or attacks."
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Shane Croucher is a Senior Editor based in London, UK. He oversees the My Turn team. He has previously overseen ... Read more
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